Support Educational Access with the Odyssey Project

The Odyssey Project provides low-income adults in East Central Illinois with access to free credit-bearing humanities courses taught by instructors at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Students can earn up to eight transferable college credits in foundational humanities courses in Literature, Philosophy, Art History, and U.S. History, all in a collaborative, reflective space designed to support historically underrepresented, non-traditional adult learners.

Since 2006, more than 150 students have successfully completed the program, and its alumni have gone on to continued higher education, civic engagement, and community leadership. Connecting key humanities values and practices to their lived experiences, Odyssey students develop a rich understanding of how to communicate about—and ultimately transform—their lives.

Gifts to the Odyssey Project make a tangible difference, providing books and classroom technology, and supporting events, field trips, and hands-on activities. Together, we can work to increase access to higher education through a quality humanities-based, life-changing learning experience.